Advances in semiconductor processing and logic design have permitted an increase in the amount of logic that may be present on integrated circuit devices. As a result, computer system configurations have evolved from a single or multiple integrated circuits in a system to multiple hardware threads, multiple cores, multiple devices, and/or complete systems on individual integrated circuits. Additionally, as the density of integrated circuits has grown, the power requirements for computing systems (from embedded systems to servers) have also escalated. Furthermore, software inefficiencies, and its requirements of hardware, have also caused an increase in computing device energy consumption. In fact, some studies indicate that computing devices consume a sizeable percentage of the entire electricity supply for a country, such as the United States of America. As a result, there is a vital need for energy efficiency and conservation associated with integrated circuits. These needs will increase as servers, desktop computers, notebooks, ultrabooks, tablets, mobile phones, processors, embedded systems, etc. become even more prevalent (from inclusion in the typical computer, automobiles, and televisions to biotechnology).
As general background, controlling power consumption in microprocessors and other integrated circuit devices has increased in importance, especially with the greater use of mobile devices. Some prior art techniques for managing processor power consumption have not adequately provided a dynamic scheme for setting various power management parameters relied upon by an integrated circuit device, such as a processor. The lack of a dynamic setting scheme for various power management parameters, other than the Thermal Design Power (TDP) parameter, not only lessens the actual power savings realized, but also restricts the ability of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to design products that can temporarily operate outside specifications established by the processor manufacturer, such as Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif.